University of Texas at Austin Expands to 80 Mashgin

The University of Texas at Austin is taking the game day experience to the next level with Mashgin's AI self-checkout system. After seeing incredible success in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, they're going all-in with an expansion to 80 kiosks in 2024. The goal? To keep slashing wait times at concessions stands while driving revenue, ensuring fans have the best experience possible.

Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, also known as Texas Memorial Stadium, is the home field of the University of Texas at Austin's fabled football team. With a seating capacity exceeding 100,000, it stands as one of the largest stadiums in the nation. Since its inception in 1924, this iconic venue has undergone numerous renovations and expansions to match its growing fanbase. The loyalty and passion of Texas Longhorns fans are legendary, filling the stadium to the brim for every home game.

At the beginning of 2022, Chris Reynolds, District Manager at Sodexo at the University of Texas, and his team identified key areas needing improvement to elevate the fan experience. Record-breaking 2022 ticket sales highlighted the necessity for these upgrades. One of the primary challenges was to significantly reduce the long lines at concession stands, which were beginning to become a major pain point for Longhorns fans.

Reynolds and his Sodexo team decided to leverage the power of Mashgin's AI self-checkout system to streamline the concession transaction process. The university first implemented this cutting-edge technology by installing a set of 14 Mashgin kiosks. They converted four existing stands to handle Mashgin and built two new stands to increase overall concessions capacity.

These kiosks were strategically placed throughout the stadium in various configurations, including countertop-based stations and mobile stands on carts. This ensured easy accessibility for fans irrespective of their seating locations. The implementation was smooth, and the results were remarkable.

Throughout just seven home games, the Mashgin kiosks demonstrated a significant impact. The median transaction time was a mere 12.5 seconds, a whopping 450% faster than the industry average for sports concessions. This efficiency translated into a substantial revenue boost—125% more than the previous year. Impressively, four kiosks were only operational for the last three games, suggesting even greater potential for future revenue generation. The lowest-performing Mashgin stand still outperformed the best-performing stand from the previous year, underscoring the effectiveness of the self-checkout system.

The success of this initiative encouraged UT Austin to expand its use of Mashgin kiosks. By 2023, the number of kiosks had increased to 40, with the same impressive 125% increase in sales. The implementation of Mashgin AI at Texas Memorial Stadium has revolutionized the game day experience for fans. By significantly reducing wait times and boosting revenue, the university has set a new standard for sports concessions. As the school continues to innovate, fans can look forward to an even better game day experience in the coming years.